Nikola Jokic: The best quarterback in Denver
By Max Carlin
Nikola Jokic’s outlet passing is superb. It’s so special, it might just make him the best quarterback in Denver, regardless of uniform.
Perhaps it says more about the Denver Broncos’ uninspiring quarterback duo of Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian than about Nikola Jokic’s brilliance to claim that Jokic is, in fact, the best quarterback in Denver.
But boy, does Jokic throw a mean deep ball.
Jokic is a passing savant; this is no secret. His touch is superhuman, his court sense preternatural. In his arsenal, he has both passes that make you ask “Physically, how did he do that?” and “Intellectually, how did he think of that?”
I recently watched all 301 of Jokic’s pre-All-Star-break assists. It was a glorious experience. Among all the ridiculous, cannot-possibly-be-understood lunacy of Jokic’s passing, his deep ball — outlet passing — stands out.
These are passes that involve unimaginable levels of brute force and uncanny skill. Jokic has both in spades.
Jokic is a strong man — not breaking news here, I know — but he’s really strong:
That might not look mind-blowingly impressive at first, but the feats of NBA athletes are so often diluted by the commonplace of athletic greatness in the league. We look at these achievements through a glass of water, which warps their magnitude and belies their magnificence.
Jokic releases that pass from within the restricted area. Doing some crude estimation with the help of a confusing diagram of NBA court dimensions, I’d say he’s roughly five or six feet from the baseline. Gary Harris hauls the pass in a foot or two inside the foul line, roughly 17 or 18 feet from the baseline.
An NBA court stretches 94 feet. Jokic threw that pass at least 70 feet. Two-handed.
I’m assuming everyone reading this has, at some point, attempted a half-court shot. Half-court is 43 feet from the backboard. Think about how hard it can be to launch a basketball 43 feet with two hands. Jokic is a damn ox.
When he rifles it with one hand, he can get some serious zip on the ball:
Jokic’s strength allows him to hit streaking receivers before they run out of court and before defensive backs catch up. It facilitates countless freebies in transition.
As is typical with Jokic, however, it’s his prodigious skill that stands out most:
He flings his outlet passes downfield with no hesitation. He grabs the ball, reads the court, and heaves. He never wastes an opportunity.
His ability to consistently hit receivers in stride is remarkable:
He leads his teammates beautifully, never asking too much of their speed, but never holding them back. And his touch is heavenly:
His passes are fast and have undeniable purpose behind them, but they’re so soft. Wilson Chandler doesn’t catch that pass. It lands slowly in his hands like it’s wearing a parachute.
What, exactly, does Nikola Jokic’s outlet passing do for the Denver Nuggets? It certainly helps them get out in transition. When Jokic is on the court 1.9 percent more of the Nuggets’ possessions come in transition than with him off. That differential is in the 85th percentile among all players. But more than that, it’s just fun.
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Jokic’s outlet passing is the type of amazing that makes you chuckle and say “Man, this dude is good.” It’s yet another skill that makes him one of the most captivating players in the NBA. Given the dearth of competent quarterbacks in Denver, it might just land him a tryout with the Broncos.